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Being in Florida my main concern would be Air Conditioning (Preferred model is the Model S)

Is A/C available? If so, would it effect the mileage range of the car? And if so on that, by how much?

Douglas3 | December 16, 2010

Air conditioning is required by the battery pack, so actually it isn't optional. The battery A/C is shared with the cabin.

ConnorO79 | December 16, 2010

it shaves off a few miles, so instead of 300, its something like 240-260, someone else can verify, but thats my assumption. if on all the time that is.

Douglas3 | December 16, 2010

In my experience with the Roadster, it's not even that much.

ChadS | January 10, 2011

If you turn the A/C on full, it pulls something like 4 amps (I don't remember the exact number). It seems like it was about 10% of the draw of pushing the car, although of course that varies a lot depending on speed. And remember that if it's not too hot the compressor may not be on all the time; and that some of the time it's on even if you don't use A/C because of the batteries, so figuring out the exact difference is pretty tough.

The amperage draw is less important to me than actual effective cooling ability. In Phoenix we just experienced August 2011 summer heat of over 110 F every day. Add heat from the asphalt etc. and its not every car that can keep the interior cool. And to stay in love with a car in this area of the country, the cooling capacity is as important to me as brakes and stability control systems...

My Porsche Cayman is barely up to the task of cooling the interior. It does manage eventually, but I will not buy it again.
The 2008 Mercedes GL diesel does a good job.
My 2007 Prius did a pretty good job.

The Mercedes gets family approval with the dual AC blower system. When we carry 7 people in the summer we realize how important this feature has become.

The Model S cooling ability with room for 7 and a glass top ( heat gain) in the desert Southwest is a concern.

danielccc | November 4, 2012

If heat is a concern, and it would be in Phoenix for sure, get a white car with white or tan interior.

The glass top is heavily tinted, but I don't know what, if any thermal coatings it has.